The next big Baldur's Gate 3 patch is coming this week, and although its kissing-related changes are obviously the star, there's more to it than "improved smooches." Larian announced today that the patch will finally fix a party management inconvenience that I imagine near-universally prompted players to think "ugh, that's slightly annoying" an hour or two into the game.
After Patch 6, you'll be able to invite a companion to join your full party without first dismissing another companion in-person. Thank Shar: We can finally break up by text.
"While a little exercise is good for the body, running back and forth between party members to dismiss them can be tiring," wrote Larian, "so you'll now be able to dismiss a recruited companion from your party while speaking to the companion you want to replace them with!"
Patch 6 will also address a different party-related annoyance (although one I haven't really minded), which is that NPC party members sometimes usurp your character's role as main character by initiating dialogue. When dialogue is triggered automatically, Baldur's Gate 3 will "now try to prioritise your avatar as the main speaker," says Larian.
That bit of the announcement was paired with a good Astarion gif, if you're a collector:
We’re also here to help you practice some self-love this month, by making sure you’re the star of the show ⭐️With Patch 6, automatically triggered dialogue will now try to prioritise your avatar as the main speaker, so your party members should stop stealing the limelight! pic.twitter.com/dy1Ai5TJ1iFebruary 13, 2024
Finally, Larian announced that Patch 6 will fix Shield Bash and Rebuke of the Mighty, abilities which stopped triggering saving throws on targets after a patch a few months ago.
The patch will be 21GB, and once again requires so much free space to install—150GB—that Larian recommends uninstalling and redownloading the whole game if you're short on SSD space.
Larian hasn't announced a specific release date for Patch 6, but said last week that it'd release this week, so it could be any day now. Along with these highlights and the smooching update, the studio says that the patch will bring "new camp idle animations, new Legendary Actions in Honour Mode, and plenty of bug fixes."
Baldur's Gate 3 dev spills the secret sauce: Players love finding a place, then 'ending up 2 hours and 3 puzzles later in a sacrificial chamber of a cult that murders giraffes'
D&D lore buff discovers Elminster's likely been leaving magic items strewn around Baldur's Gate 3 like a fantasy wizard Santa Claus
